From Paper to Canvas

If you’re a calligraphy artist, chances are that you’ve done the majority of your work on paper. But have you given canvas a shot?

I did my fair share of non-calligraphy related fine art back in high school — and a little in college — but I never actually took my skills to the canvas… until recently.

I’ve had my prints featured in gallery showings before. But a couple of weeks ago, I was invited to submit work for a local art show/fundraiser. The other artists featured in the show were submitting canvases and large-scale mounted photographs. As you might imagine, I felt a little silly bringing a small piece of paper to the table.

I figured what the hell, I’ll pick up a canvas and go to town.

After a couple minutes of working on this canvas, I felt like I had discovered an entire new world of creative opportunities.

If you’ve never put your calligraphy on to a canvas — you should. And if you’re hesitant like I was, then read on.

Paper vs. Canvas

Working on canvas is different for a number of immediately obvious reasons.

Different surface

Different tools

Different scales

These were the aspects that deterred me.

When working on paper, we tend to feel a sense of comfort because it’s just a sheet of paper. Chances are, you have countless other sheets of paper at your disposal. If you were to mess this piece up, you have the freedom of crumpling the sheet up and throwing it away, or just flipping to another page in your sketchbook.

Canvases aren’t as cheap as paper, so they naturally feel much less expendable. However, canvas is much more forgiving than a piece of paper. If you mess up to the point in which you can’t “save” your piece — you can paint over it and start again.

Canvases are made to withstand many layers of wet (or dry) media.

You can start over as many times as you please. In a sense, it’s cheaper than paper!

Once I got my hands dirty, I realized just how much freedom I had. And after the first couple of strokes, I decided before I had even finished that I was going to paint over it and start again — just because I could.

When you start a canvas, don’t go into it with the mentality that you’re screwed if you mess up.

Selecting Canvas

When you browse the canvas section of your art store, there is a spectrum of different types of canvas that range in quality price. Hell, I even know painters that construct frames and stretch their own canvas. Just keep in mind that the quality of your materials is a necessity that differs from artist to artist.

So many canvas choices!

Between spray-paint, paint markers, acrylics, and a brush, a calligraphy artist really has everything they need to create a masterpiece on canvas.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with stepping up the quality of your materials if that’s what works for you. But if you’re just getting your feet wet, don’t feel bad about choosing the less expensive stuff.

Planning

If you’re not yet comfortable with tools you’ve selected, you’re probably a little nervous to start the canvas. I know I was!

Before you get started, I’d recommend getting a large roll of cheap brown paper. Painters and carpenters use this paper to protect surfaces while they work. And once they’re done, they simply throw it away.

Before you get your canvas wet, grab a big section and start experimenting with your tools. If it helps, you might even try a rough test of what you want to put on your canvas just to get a feel for the scale and the tools you’re using.

I keep a stock of this in my studio and use it for testing (and wrapping gifts!). I also hang large sheets of it on the wall when I want to work at very large scales.

Execution

When you’re comfortable with your tools, it’s time to get to work. Once again, relax and remember just how forgiving the process of working on canvas is. If you screw up, you can cover it and start over.

Depending on the type of work you’re doing, it might be useful to lay down some straight edges as guidelines with a rule or a T-square.

Don’t overthink it. You’ll quickly find that one of the beauties of working on canvas is experimentation and trying new things.

When you put yourself in an unfamiliar or uncomfortable situation, you’re bound to learn something new. And in most cases, these lessons lead to new ideas and improvements in your work.